Elaine Jeanette Stark

She was born in Los Angeles on March 13, 1929 to Lee H. Rogers and Haru Eaton. An only child after her sister died in infancy, Elaine was a kind and attentive daughter. As a child, she moved frequently and had especially fond memories of her time attending high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She attended Brigham Young University for one year and spent her young married life in the San Francisco Bay Area until 1965. At that time, she divorced her first husband, Reed D. Welchoff, and moved with her three young children (Greta, Erik and Lynn) to Beaverton, Oregon to live with her parents. Sadly, her father died suddenly, leaving Elaine to support her three children and her mother. She worked the swing shift at Tektronix during those years, selflessly giving up sleep to care for her family. On July 17, 1970, she happily married Chester D. Stark, father of David, Tammy, Tim and Linda, and settled in Gaston, Oregon. Elaine and Chet drove to and from Tektronix together every day and retired in the late 1980s—she after 21 years with Tek, he after 26. It was then that they followed their dream of moving to the Oregon Coast. They worked hard to build their unique octagonal home on the bluff and became very active members of the Oregon Coast Aquarium. There, Elaine served as a greeter, meeting each visitor with a smile and offering information on everything from the sea life to the best options at the gift store and cafeteria. In addition to her role as an aquarium volunteer, Elaine donated countless knitted and crocheted items to numerous organizations in Newport, often through Oceanview Senior Living, where she lived for several years after Chet’s death and before her recent move to Avamere at Bethany in March of 2015. Elaine was a devoted mother to her children, Erik Welchoff of Aloha, Oregon and Maya (Greta) Frost of Campeche, Mexico, and step-children Tamara Cox of Molalla, Oregon, Tim Stark of Kauai, Hawaii, and Linda Hand of Dayville, Oregon. She was very proud of her thirteen grandchildren. Elaine was preceded in death by several loved ones, including her parents, husband Chet, son Lynn, and step-son David. There will be no service. Memorial contributions may be made to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.